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How We Test AM1 Motherboards

Three AMD AM1 Motherboards For The Kabini APU, Reviewed
By
Test System Configuration
CPUAMD Athlon 5350 (Kabini): 2.05 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, Socket FS1b
CPU CoolerAMD Socket FS1b boxed (2-pin) cooler
RAMPatriot Viper 3 PV316G240C1K (16 GB) at DDR3-1600 C9 Defaults
GraphicsAMD Radeon HD 8400 integrated (600 MHz)
Hard DriveSamsung 840 Series MZ-7PD256, 256 GB SSD 
SoundIntegrated HD Audio
NetworkIntegrated Gigabit Networking
PowerCorsair AX860i: ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Platinum
Software
OSMicrosoft Windows 8 Professional RTM x64
GraphicsAMD Catalyst 13.4
ChipsetAMD 13.250.26

We purchased a new, retail-boxed AMD Athlon 5350 specifically for today’s test. It will probably end up in the hands of a contributing editor, eventually.

We specifically seek out DRAM that defaults to DDR3-1600 CAS 9 for use in motherboard round-ups, since some boards don’t use XMP properly and others make unwanted changes when XMP is enabled. We started with Patriot’s PV332G240C1QK 32 GB DDR3-2400 kit and removed two modules, transforming it into the same company’s 16 GB dual-channel part number PV316G240C1K.

Far overcapacity for these low-power platform, Corsair’s AX860i remains efficient even at low loads. Since I don’t have any smaller-yet-more-efficient parts laying around, it stays on the test bench.

Benchmark Settings
3D Games
Battlefield 4Version 1.0.0.1, DirectX 11, 100-sec. Fraps "Tashgar"
Test Set 1: Low Quality Preset (No AA, No AF, SSAO)
Test Set 2: Medium Preset (No AA, 4X AF, SSAO)
Grid 2Version 1.0.85.8679, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark
Test Set 1: Medium Quality, No AA
Test Set 2: High Quality, No AA
Arma 3
Version 1.08.113494, 30-sec. Fraps "Infantry Showcase"
Test Set 1: Low Quality Preset (No AA, No AF)
Test Set 2: Standard Preset (No AA, Standard AF)
Far Cry 3V. 1.04, DirectX 11, 50-sec. Fraps "Amanaki Outpost"
Test Set 1: Low Quality, No AA, No ATC., SSAO
Test Set 2: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC., SSAO
Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe After Effects CCVersion 12.0.0.404: Create Video which includes 3 Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneosly
Adobe Photoshop CCVersion 14.0 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates
Adobe Premeire Pro CCVersion 7.0.0 (342), 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality
Audio/Video Encoding
iTunesVersion 11.0.4.4 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format 
LAME MP3Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLIVersion: 0.99: Video from Canon Eos 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds
Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile)
TotalCode Studio 2.5Version: 2.5.0.10677: MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, Two-Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
Productivity
ABBYY FineReaderVersion 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages
Adobe Acrobat 11Version 11.0.0.379: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption
Autodesk 3ds Max 2013Version 15.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080
BlenderVersion: 2.68A, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1
Visual Studio 2010Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted
File Compression
WinZipVersion 18.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r"
WinRARVersion 5.0: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3"
7-ZipVersion 9.30 alpha (64-bit): THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5"
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark 11Version: 1.0.5.0, Benchmark Only
3DMark ProfessionalVersion: 1.2.250.0 (64-bit), Fire Strike Benchmark
PCMark 8Version: 1.0.0 x64, Full Test
SiSoftware SandraVersion 2014.02.20.10, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Multimedia / Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth Benchmarks
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  • 0 Hide
    bpbarrette , 2 July 2014 13:48
    I'd love to see how these setups do running Windows Media Center. A test using a 6 tuner setup would be great to see how it holds up. I know I had to switch from an E450 based HTPC to an i5 one because the E450 couldn't handle the stress of 6 tuners, and it also couldn't handle using a 360 as an extender. I don't know why the extender stuff was so troublesome for the E450, but it was.